April 2016 Newsletter - Garden City Public Schools

East
West
High School
Congratulations to GCHS Senior, Anthony Nitkowski. Anthony, a
trained pianist, accepted donations for his self-produced CD as a
fundraiser for Alzheimer's Research.
During a month of
fundraising, Anthony collected $1,510 towards the cause.
Pictured, is Anthony and Maureen O'Reilly, Event Coordinator for
the Alzheimer's Association - Greater Michigan Chapter.
Anthony's grandfather suffers from Alzheimer's so Anthony is
passionate about finding a cure for the disease. If you are
interested in Anthony's CD, contact Sharon Kollar, principal of
Garden City High School.
The brand new robotics team at GCHS just won the
competition in Woodhaven! They are now headed to
the state finals.
Congrats to the whole group. In addition, many thanks
to Dave VanDeWater for taking on the feat of being
their sponsor!
Go Cougars Robotics Go!
The High School held a prom dress event on
Saturday in the HS MRC.
This event was sponsored by Angels Above
Baby Gowns a non-profit group based on Garden
City.
Over 100 dresses were chosen by local girls for
prom or other events! It was a pleasure to be part
of this spectacular event!
Dawn Lafferty and her group of tailors and other
volunteers, as well as GCHS staff and student
volunteers made this a huge success!
We hope we may be able to do this again in the fall for homecoming!
GCHS Student Council Donates Care Packages to Chemotherapy Patients
Garden City High School's Student Council is
taking on a new project. Using the funds they
raised in October for Breast Cancer month, the
students are sponsoring “Chemo Care
Pouches.” Student Council purchased quality,
reusable pouches and is filling them with items
of comfort for people who are currently
undergoing chemotherapy. Items such as warm
socks, lip balm, lotion, and small snacks are
being packed into each pouch.
“This is a great
way to actually
help
someone
directly,” said Hannah DeHetre, Student Council President. DeHetre
organized the fund-raising efforts last fall along with the GCHS Cougar
Crazies and football team. DeHetre has a strong motivation to help women
and families impacted by cancer; she lost her mother to breast cancer when
she was young. “Knowing personally how this can affect a family, something
as simple as these care packages can mean a lot.”
It was also important to the group to keep the donations local. GCHS Head
Football Coach, Scott Murray, encouraged Student Council to find a local
facility in need. Student Council plans to take these care pouches to the
Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit at the end of the month where they will
be distributed to women receiving chemotherapy. They initially started with
20 pouches, but that number could grow as interest spreads to other student
groups. “The more pouches we can fill, the better. We couldn't think of a better way to offer some comfort
during such a difficult time,” said Emily Hornbeck, Student Council Co-Sponsor. Hornbeck, along with CoSponsor Chad Davis are coordinating the purchasing, filling, and delivering of the pouches.
Elementary, High School Students Show Pride in Flag
A flag retiring ceremony at Garden City High School was a history lesson, salute
to the country and a course in Old Glory trivia all rolled into one.
The bleachers at the GCHS football field were filled April 20 with Douglas
Elementary School students and members of VFW Post 7575 as GCHS Air
Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFJRCTC) gave a dramatic
presentation of the history and significance of the flag. They also illustrated the
proper way to retire the nation’s symbol.
Farmington
Let’s Play Ball
The students in Mrs. Koslakiewicz/
Smitt’s 6th grade class at Farmington
celebrated
the
Detroit
Tigers
Opening Day in a fun way. All the
students accepted and completed
the March is Reading Month
challenge and were invited to a
baseball themed lunch.
Baseball activities were also part of
the academic subjects for the day.
The students read about the history
of baseball and analyzed and
interpreted baseball related graphs.
Students also viewed “Who’s On
First”, by Abbott and Costello and
worked together to name the starting
line-up of this infamous team.
After lunch, our beloved Detroit Tigers were live streamed into the classroom. It was a great day enjoyed
by all.
NEHS INDUCTEES
APRIL 13, 2016
5th grade
Angelina Bierkamp
Regan Buterbaugh
Kayla Campbell
Vanessa Collins
Zachary Czarnik
Natalie Dunk
Angela Gonzalez
Brianna James
Adrian Muntean
Owen Novess
Donoven Parker
Amilia Salisbury
Everett Thorn
Nunez
Nunez
Nunez
Luttrell
Young
Nunez
Carcone
Braun
Braun
Carcone
Carcone
Nunez
Nunez
6th grade
Megan Bell
Devon Collins
Zachary Dumas
Haliee Flateau
Grace Konopatzki
Chloe King
Lauren Space
Jenna Stewart
Britney Turrill
Sophia Walker
Jahlas
Jahlas
Jahlas
Koslakiewicz
Parks
Koslakiewicz
Koslakiewicz
Messner
Messner
Messner
Burger
Burger Night Riders
On April 12, the 9th Annual Burger Night Riders Staff vs. Students
game was played at Garden City Middle School. Nearly 30 Burger
Baylor and Burger Transition students played against Burger staff in
a game enjoyed by Burger families along with Burger staff past and
present. In preparation of this game, these students were led by
Head Coach Dennis Allison and his assistant coaches: Nicole
Bartololla, Kris Kramer, Jon Rutter, Debbie Furmanski, Vicky
Fuhrman, and Jennifer Still. They met once a week for 10 weeks at
Burger Transition Center and GC Middle School practicing basic
basketball drills such as dribbling, passing, shooting, as well as what
it means to be on a team and to have good sportsmanship. This
program is generously funded through the Lyman foundation, which
provides each player with a T-shirt and trophy. Stan Bialach and
Patrick Crosby were the game's MCs/DJs and Brian Wright, a brother
of one of the Burger players, was the game's referee. Coach Allison
and his team of coaches were also joined for this game by Jeff
Szypula, Kim Marquette, Katie Farthing, Dawn Averill, Rad
Lewandowski, Tony Mattioli, Joe Szypula, and Charlie Floetke.
Thank you goes out to all staff who worked so hard to provide this
wonderful experience for our students and their families as well as to those who came out to cheer our
players. A big shout out goes to Coach Dennis for the many hours he put into organizing such a fabulous
activity for our students to take part.
Cambridge
Students master atomic theory with the help of Play-Doh
When you think about chemistry, the word Play-Doh doesn’t come to mind. But
in Julia Roscoe’s class at Cambridge High School, students learned the atomic
theory by building the different parts of an atom with the modeling compound.
“I thought using Play-Doh would be good because it’s hands-on. The students
had the opportunity to actually build their models according to the evolution of
the atom,” Julia Roscoe said.
The students started by making pea-size particles out of the Play-Doh and then
progressed to creating a solid sphere. Next they added the rings for the
subatomic particles.
“The current model has all the features plus the protons, neutrons and electrons. That was the final step,”
she said. “The hands-on and the visuals also allowed them to make a timeline of the events.”
The timeline fills the chalkboard at the back of the classroom. The timeline is a science standard to
Common Core.
“It’s boring, but this was a good way to make it interesting and to stimulate
conversation. We had questions like ‘Can you really see atoms?’ and ‘Has
anyone ever seen an atom?’ “ she said.
This isn’t the first time she’ used Play-Doh in her chemistry class. She also
had students use it when the discussion focused on the bonding with
electrons.
She added that she had modeling clay pulled out before she decided to use
the Play-Doh.
“It’s clean, not messy like clay. You ball it up and put it away,” she said. “But
what I liked it most is that it activated previous knowledge. The kids started
talking about their childhood and that started them talking about science. It
engages learning.”
Students and staff at Cambridge High School Tuesday showed their support for higher education by
wearing their favorite college or university gear.
The show of support was in response to First Lady Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher Initiative geared to
inspire students to take charge of their future by pursuing an education past high school.
Organized by Director Debbie Eves, students and staff were encouraged to wear college athletic wear.
Everything from T-shirts, sweatshirts and pants, representing the University of Michigan, Michigan State
University, North Carolina and Duke as well as Schoolcraft College could be seen in the hallways of the
high school.
The Reach Higher Spirit Day was held in conjunction with National College Signing Day, when seniors
commit to a college or university. This is the second year Mrs. Obama has invited students to wear their
favorite college gear and send picture with the hashtag #ReachHigher!
The initiative’s goal is for students to
pursue post-high school education at a
college, university or professional
training program.
“Spirit Day was a celebration of our
students’ success,” said Debbie Eves.
“We work with our students to help
them reach higher to earn their high
school diploma and go on to college or
vocational programs. I’m proud of their
success.”
Shinning Stars - March
Lathers
Memorial
Douglas
Farmington
Middle School
High School
Cambridge
Burger
Audrey Lada
Ernest May
Leland Hembree
Autumn Jennings
Katelyn Green
Maggie Crunk
Benjah Smith
Michael Lomas
Above and Beyond - March
Lathers
Memorial
Douglas
Farmington
Middle School
High School
Cambridge
Burger
Kaitlin Brooks
Jamie Williamson
Nichole Perczak
Laurie Wilson
Carrie Watkins
Kelly Mendez
Caroline Vanstrien
Audrey Barnak & Pat Crosby
1st
2nd
4th
6th
11th
12th
13th
16th
17th
18th
20th
21st
22nd
23rd
24th
27th
29th
30th
31st
Carly Boschma
Sandy Bosker, Kari Hinken, Denise Swisher
Nora Cikstesikstenas
Carla Young
Janet Freeman
Michelle Rowland, Susan Stewart, Joey Szypula
Jennipher Hartmann, Kim Marquette
Jackie Ryskamp, Sheila Windom
Chad Davis, Jennifer Gooding, Karen Teran
Luann Englehart, Sharon Kollar
Ann Ferrier
Deborah Gabrion, Nicholas Timmerman
Jeff Edgar
Cynthia Chambers, Mary Hammond
Heidi Leads, Bridget Taylor
Denise Henderson-Bills, Nancy Waldron
Theresa Cook
Marianne Hubbard
Kaitlin Brooks
New Hires…
Heather Coleman
Belinda Hunter
Kelly Macijewski
Dawn Salwa
Suzette Sullivan
Andrew Wunderlich
AI Para
AI Para
Special Program Para
AI Para
AI Teacher
AI Para
Burger
Burger
Middle School
Farmington
Burger Baylor
Burger
Job Opportunities
Aramark is in need of Lunch Room Monitors for the elementary schools. 1½ hours a day. Please
call the food service office for more information. (734) 762-8369.
Fundraisers
Wild Game Dinner and raffles
05/21/16 doors open @ 5 p.m. Dinner at 6 p.m.
The annual Wild Game Dinner, to benefit Garden City High School Football will take place
at the Polish Legion of American Veterans Hall (25222 W Warren St
Dearborn Heights, Mi.) on 05/21/16. Tickets are $50.00 and will include the wild game
dinner, premium bar, and a door prize. (NO STUDENTS ATTEND) There will be raffles,
sponsored by the Firing Line in Westland, 50/50 raffle, gift basket raffle and a sports
memorabilia silent auction that night as well. Please contact Coach Murray for pre-sale
raffle tickets or entry tickets to the event.
We are also accepting donations for gift baskets to help make this event great.
Thank you & GO COUGARS!